John Stonestreet – Page 24

Marijuana and Psychosis in Teens: Guest Post

Mar 20, 2024John StonestreetMarijuanaMarijuana

It’s time to stop the delusion that legalizing weed has done no harm.

In 2016, Massachusetts voters legalized recreational marijuana. Roughly seven years later, doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital say a full third of adolescents who come in for routine check-ups report using marijuana, and a third of those kids are likely to develop hallucinations or paranoia, according to new research.

Nationwide, since 2019, the number of kids diagnosed with cannabis-induced mental disorders, including schizophrenia and psychotic episodes, has increased by 50%.

Research continues to reveal, in fact, that the marijuana on the market today, including the stuff that’s “government regulated,” is more potent and dangerous than the weed of decades past. There’s just too much data now to ignore the correlations between marijuana use and mental health disorders.

Also obvious is that the arguments used for the legalization of marijuana were bogus. The freedom to choose self-harm and addiction is no freedom at all. The kids now suffering from schizophrenia, depression, and paranoia are reasons enough to turn this train around.

Doing Better for Our Daughters: Guest Column

Mar 13, 2024John StonestreetTransgenderFairness in Women's Sports, Transgender

In a recent article published in Newsweek, Kristen Waggoner described how the federal government is working to remove protections for women’s sports, ironically in the name of equity and justice. When Title IX rules that protect female representation in sports are reinterpreted to privilege males who claim a transgender identity, the original purpose of Title IX is turned on its head.

Twenty years ago, or maybe just 10, if anyone were to predict that women and girls would be denied privacy, scholarship money, and the fair chance to compete in sports, the culprits would have been assumed to be the advocates of a Handmaid’s Tale-style, Right-wing patriarchy. But this move is being championed by those on the Left because they are committed to a worldview in which identity is constructed and the freedom to self-express is the highest good.

But the freedom from reality is not freedom at all, certainly not the freedom promised to women and girls.

Liam’s Dangerous T-Shirt: Guest Column

Mar 6, 2024John StonestreetReligious Freedom, TransgenderAlliance Defending Freedom, Religious Freedom, Transgender

The First Circuit Court of Appeals will soon decide whether a public middle school can ban a student from wearing a T-shirt with the phrase “[t]here are only two genders.” Earlier this month, the Alliance Defending Freedom argued on behalf of Liam Morrison, who was sent home for wearing the shirt, while his Massachusetts school had proactively encouraged students to wear shirts with pro-LGBTQ messages during a school-imposed Pride week.

A lawyer for the school argued that the phrase on Liam’s shirt was not merely offensive but put classmates who struggle with gender dysphoria at risk of “significant harm.” That’s an oft-made assertion these days, an assertion that poses as an argument but without evidence to back it up.

Liam has learned a bit early about courage and what’s at stake when you stand for what is true. Pray for him. It’s not easy to be accused of evil, but more Christians will be.